Separable twin package



Oct. 7, 1958 E. H. DUVAL SEPARABLE TWIN PACKAGE .5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 9, 1955 INVENTOR. (flaw/7% znme BY Oct, 7, 1958 E, H. DUVAL 2,855,135

SEPARABLE TWIN PACKAGE Filed May 9, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. /r Md. By

Oct. 7, 1958 E. H. DUVAL 2,855,135

SEPARABLE TWIN PACKAGE Filed May 9, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN V EN TOR.

Mm sme- United States PatentO SEPARABLE TWIN PACKAGE Ernest H. Dnval, Winthrop, Mass., assignor to The Gillette Company, Boston, Mass., a corporation of Delaware Application May 9, 1955, Serial No. 506,807

2 Claims. (Cl. 229-27) This invention comprises a new and improved package for two or more items of merchandise, constructed and arranged to be conveniently severable into two separate containers so that the items may be dealt with individually While being still protected in their original packing. An important field of use for such package is in distributing display racks of safety razor cases and while not so limited, the invention will be described in that connection.

As herein shown the racks, which it is desired to package, each includes an upright supporting member having parallel flanges or rods upon which are threaded in stacked relation a series of rectangular cases with hinged covers. The racks also include an upwardly projecting advertising card that extends above the stacked cases. The rack is designed to be placed on a shop counter or in another location where the caseswill be displaced conspicuously to possible customers, and while it is convenient to package and ship such racks in pairs, the jobber or retailer frequently wishes to install, sell or ship one rack at a time. To this end, the package of my invention comprises two similar halves, each adapted fully to enclose and protect a single rack, and the package as a whole is so constructed and arranged that its two halves may, if desired, be severed each with its own individual rack fully protected and enclosed.

An important feature of the invention resides in a twin package that may be constructed-out of a single blank of cardboard or other sheet material. This is accomplished in accordance with the present invention by producing a blank from which side and end walls may be formed into a continuously peripheral band with contiguous top and bottom panels carrying the distinctive elements of the package. For example, the top and bottom panels terminate longitudinally in inturned flanges or ribs, and as herein shown these are shaped to provide a longitudinal clearance zone where that is desirable from the nature of the merchandise. Further, these flanges may be extended and folded to provide end stops within the package for holding the enclosed racks and the cases therein against longitudinal displacement.

Another feature of the invention consists in the provision of divided top and bottom panels having end flaps adhesively secured to the end walls of the package in such a manner as to expose between them in a narrow Zone a single thickness of each end wall. Accordingly, the two halves of the package may be completely sep arated by severing both end walls in these exposed zones, or the two halves may be partially separated by severing one end wall and leaving them hinged to the other end Wall of the original package.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the blank fiom which the package is made.

Patented Oct. 7, 1958 Fig. 2 is a view in perspective suggesting the first step in converting the flat blank into .a rectangular package.

Fig. 3 is a view in perspective suggesting further steps in the process of forming the package, the partially for-med package being shown in a position reverse from that of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a view of the partially formed package shown in Fig. 3 having placed therein a pair of the racks whichit is desired to package.

Fig. 5 is a view in perspective showing the package with its cover closed.

Fig. 6 is a view in perspective of the package completely sealed.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view on line 7--7.

Fig. 8 is a view in perspective suggestingthe step of severing the package into separate containers and,

Fig. 9 is a view in perspective showing the two separate containers.

The package herein disclosed is designed to hold a pair of racks, like those shown in Fig. 4. Each of these racks comprises an upright panel of sheet metal having diverging side flanges which provide parallel rails or rods for the reception of six safety razor cases 32. Each of the cases is provided with re-entrant slots in its rear wall by which it may be retained by the flanges of the rack,

, and each rack has an upwardly extending advertisingcard 31 that projects above the stacked cases. A rack of similar construction constitutes the subject matter of co-pending application Serial No. 317,474 filedOctober 29, 1952, now patent No. 2,740,529 dated Apr. 3, 1956.

The package is conveniently and economically constructed by folding the various panels defined in a novel blank cut out as shown in Fig. 1 from cardboard or other suitable sheet material. The blank comprises a band of four connected panels 10, 11, 12 and 13, of which panels 10 and 12 are to form side walls and panels 11 and 13 the end walls of the complete package. The individual panels are set oil in the blank by slots and scored lines and the first step in setting up a package is to form a rectangular enclosure of the panels 10, 11, 12, 13 by uniting the free end of the end wall'panel 13 to the free'end of the side wall panel 10 by a gummed patch 14. f The partially for-medpackage is shown in this stage in Fig. 2.

Adjacent to the side wall panel 10 are bottom and top panels 15 and 16 and the panel 16 is provided with a narrow rib-forming strip 17. The panel 15 on the other hand is provided with a similar rib-forming strip 18 and this, in turn, merges into a short rectangular panel 19. The inner end of the panel 19 in turn merges into a square panel 20 which leads to another rectangular panel 21. The panels 19, 20 and 21 are termed the end-stop panels and in the completed package are folded so as to occupy the space between the topmost case 32 and the end wall 11. The panels 20 and 21 are separated from the body of the blank by a longitudinal slot. The bottom and top panels 15 and 16 are provided at their ends with end flaps 22, 23, 24 and 25, which are employed for sealing the ends of the package. The flaps are in width slightly less than one half the length of the adjacent end wall 11 or 13.

The end wall panel 11 connects the upper and lower parts of the blank and also the two component parts of the finished package. For this purpose its length is equal to the combined width of the bottom panels 15 and 15'. The lower part is similar but reversely shaped as compared to the upper part and its corresponding panels are designated, except for the panels12, 13 and the patch 14, but with the same reference numerals primed as those already used in describing the upper part of the blank.

'In proceeding to form the package, the panels 15 and 15 are folded inwardly to form the bottom of the package as shown in Fig. 3, with the narrow rib-forming strips 18 and 18" folded inwardly to form an upstanding composite flange or rib as best shown in Fig. 7. These two stripssubstantially meet but are not connected and have a 'division slitbetwcen them. The merging panels 19 and 19' are then folded outwardly at right angles to the composite flange, the square panels 20v and 20 are folded upwardly and the panels 21 and 21 are given the formation shown in Fig. 3, thus completing a pair of rectangul ar end stops which are disposed transversely and effective to hold the racks 30 and their cases 32 against longipanels 16 and 16' and adhesively securing the end flaps 22-25 and 22'25' to the end walls 11 and 13 as indicated in Fig. 6. These end flaps are of such dimensions as to leave between their adjacent edges a narrow slot which exposes a single thickness of the end walls 11 and 13 and indicates where the severing cuts should be made in separating the twin package into its component containers. -In this step the narrow rib-forming strips 17 and 17 are folded inwardly and form a downturned composite flange or tub which is spaced at its inner edge from the upstanding composite rib 18, 18' and corresponds thereto in defining the zone or plane upon which the package may be divided. The sealed package complete :and ready for shipment is shown in Fig. 6.

In case the recipient of the package desires to separate itinto its two component containers without unpacking the contents he has only to sever the end wall 11 in the zone between the end flaps 24, 25 and theend flaps 22,

23 and the end wall 13 between the end flaps 22', 23' and 24', 25 as suggested in Fig. 8. He thus produces two packaged articles and also a zone of clearance between them that prevents rubbing and obviates inner packing material.

The individual containers may be completely severed and separated as suggested in Fig. 9 or they may be left connected by one end wall and spread apart to disclose their contents. If completely severed, it is sometimes advantageous to add a band or patch to hold the inturned composite flanges in place for further shipment.

Having thus disclosed my invention and described one embodiment thereof in detail, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A package separable into two closed containers and comprising an enclosure formed from a unitary blank of sheet material and housing articles of merchandise, said enclosure including in its structure two sets of bottom, top and side panels of equal length and width, said side panels connected by end wall panels equal inlength to the combined width of the bottom panels, the top and bottom panels having inturned flanges forming internal ribs, and flaps on the ends of said top and bottom panels folded upon and attached externally to the end walls and spaced from each other at their adjacent edges thus exposing the end wall panels in single thickness in substantial alignment with saidinturned flanges.

2. A package separable into two closed containers and comprising an enclosure formed from a unitary blank of sheet material and housing articles of merchandise, said enclosure including in its structure two sets of bottom, top and side panels of equal length and width, said side panels connected by end wall panels equal in length to the combined width of the bottom panels, the top and bottom panels having inturned flanges forming internal ribs, each of said bottom panels merging outwardly throughout a portion of its length into a three-part endstop panel transversely scored and folded to present a transversely disposed end stop engaged with the housed articles of each container of the package, and flaps on the ends of said top and bottom panels folded upon and attached externally to the end walls and spaced from each other at their adjacent edges thus exposing the end wall panels in single thickness in substantial alignment with said inturned flanges.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 584,072 Church June 8, 1897 1,505,045 L-ohrman Aug. 12, 1924 1,928,660 Boeye Oct. 3, 1933 2,596,331 Ferguson May 13, 1952 2,614,745 Fallert et al. Oct. 21, 1952 2,678,724 Andriot May 18, 1954 2,697,544 Morand Dec. 21, 1954 

